WASHINGTON: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in a telephonic conversation with US President Joe Biden, reiterated Ankara’s intention to purchase F-16 fighter jets from them.
US President Joe Biden also told Erdogan that Washington wanted Ankara to stop opposing Sweden’s entry into NATO.
According to Reuters, Biden called Erdogan to congratulate him on his election win.
“I spoke to Erdogan and congratulated him. He still is interested in working on something on the F-16s. I have told Erdogan that Washington wanted a deal with Sweden, so let’s get that deal done. And so, we’ll be again in touch,” Biden told reporters before he departed from the White House for Delaware.
When asked if he anticipated Erdogan would change his stance on Sweden joining NATO, Biden said, “I raised that subject with him. Next week, we’ll discuss it in greater detail.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland abandoned their long-standing military non-alignment policy and submitted applications to join NATO last year. All NATO members must consent to membership applications. Turkey and Hungary have yet to approve Sweden’s request.
Turkey has asked the US for $20 billion worth of F-16s and approximately 80 modification kits. Even though the Biden administration has consistently stated that it supports the sale, it has been stalled because of concerns from the US Congress regarding Ankara’s refusal to approve NATO enlargement, its record on human rights, and its Syria policy.
The U.S. Congress approved a considerably smaller $259 million package earlier this year, just days after Turkey ratified Finland’s NATO membership, which included avionics software updates for Turkey’s current fleet of F-16 fighter planes. The Biden administration has consistently denied any claims that there was a “quid pro quo” between the sale and the NATO enlargement, even though the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claimed in January that the U.S. side made it plain that Congress would support NATO bids if they were approved.
In a letter to Biden in February, a bipartisan group of senators stated that Turkey’s refusal to ratify the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, which were still outstanding then, would “call into question this pending sale” of F-16s.
The US earlier warned Turkey that if Ankara didn’t give Sweden the go-ahead, it would be difficult to convince Congress to approve the F-16 purchase.
Despite having approved Finland’s NATO membership in late March, Turkey has remained opposed to Sweden’s membership, claiming Stockholm is home to militant groups it views as terrorist organizations. Hungary still needs to authorize Sweden’s bid too.
One of Washington’s top ambitions is for Sweden to join NATO by mid-July, when the organisation is scheduled to have a summit of its leaders in Lithuania.
According to the Turkish Presidency, in a statement on their phone call, Biden and Erdogan agreed to strengthen collaboration on all fronts of their bilateral ties, which have become more crucial in the face of regional and global problems.
